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Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: There Be Thieves Among Us …

“Josh F’ sends us this pic from a TRU … I can’t quite put my finger on it but something is different …

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Poor Doc – everyone else disappears in the night and is replaced by another.

And everytime I’ve ever tried to return something to TRU, I get the full polygraph but Jedi mind trick?

When grandma hands this to someone, there will be a long crying jag and of course, when grandmas tries to return this to TRU, that’s a tazering …

“AceDiamondRunner” sends us these Impound Snot Rod that is plain ‘ole Snot Rod – a tampering or factory error – YOU BE DA JUDGE!

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back-plate

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I might be inclined to think – tampering – the slight misalignment you get from pulling off the plastic bubble seems possible here … impossible to say for certain but what do you think?

On the international front, our friend Altan has found another pirate CAR …

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Rush-Soa #59 … Humm, does not seem to be on my checklist …

(though if you need the rare Buzz & Woody SC, that appears to be real … the market seems to fallen on hard times for fake Buzz & Woody CARS).

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Imitation is the sincerest form of trademark fakery?

Speaking of bandwagon jumping … “Neal T.” spotted the bandwagon jumping advertising … it’s kind of like a bug-eyed Elvis RV after rolling off an embankment …

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Hey kids, you remember “U-Haul-A Boy” from the CARS movie, sure you do!

A tip if you’re going to rent a U-Haul truck. Don’t fall for this base price thing – the mileage charge is more important. Saving like $10 upfront only to have to make an extra trip is not worth it – so figure out how many miles you’ll be putting on this thing AND keep in mind, no one wants to make a 2nd trip in a day. So unless you’re moving like 3-miles away and you’re 2-miles from the U-Haul place, get the biggest truck you can drive, once you factor in mileage, it’s a wash but more importantly, NO one will want to unload to reload a second time – so just one large trip is all you’re going to get out of most people … cause after the beer and pizza, it’s nap time … 🙂

So, thanks for the pics Josh, Altan, AceDiamondRunner and Neal T. You are a Prince among thieves … 🙂

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29 Comments

  • fastlane250 says:

    Wait, so the SC Buzz & Woody pack is RARE!?!? There were TONS of them at my Wal-Mart.

  • Amy/bravo1616 says:

    Maybe when we find something like that we should point it out to a clerk so the unsuspecting grandma doesn’t buy it.

  • brian says:

    met you know that the guy that stole the cars in the first pic.the doc was plastic!

    (MET: So he left us nothing? Let’s break into his house and replace his MSOS with Disney cars …).

  • Jinzo says:

    I saw something like this at a Walmart in CA. They took out Vitoline and Tank Coat out of the individual launchers and inserted Chick Hicks as Vitoline and No Stall as Tank Coat. Sad I was excited when I saw it and I got pissed off. The boxes even had scotch tape on them! Come on what’s wrong with people? Seriously… I know economic times are bad but this is just sad. People who do this disgust me…. Sad indeed 🙁

    • John in Missouri says:

      I saw a Lightning McQueen package all taped up the other day and wondered if someone would have removed the one with Rust-eze on the tailfin and replaced it with an older one with no Rust-eze.

  • joshua mcqueen2000 says:

    that first picture is classic!!!

  • materjr says:

    can anyone tell me why milton ticket is red instead of yellow like in the collector book?

  • John in Missouri says:

    I’m sorry, but when I saw that first picture, I let out a huge laugh. I showed my kids and sternly indicated that someone STOLE those Cars, but it still looks hilarious!

  • Nicole H says:

    That silver car in the box set is from the big Target semi full of those cheap cars that break in 2 minutes. I only bought it for my son because he really wanted it and I got in 75% off-only $5! I still can’t believe the nerve of some people. How did the cashier miss that one??

    • John in Missouri says:

      I want to defend stock clerks and cashiers for a minute. We all make fun of them and wonder how they could dump Cars in a bin or accept this as a return. Don’t forget that general merchandise stores have what, 100,000 items? A case of Cars is no different than a can of paint is no different than a pair of jeans.

      • Nicole H says:

        I worked in retail so I understand your defense. But, this is TRU, all they sell are toys. Plus, those 2 cars so obviously don’t look like the others!

        • John in Missouri says:

          Gotcha — your personal story was about Target and your question was about the TRU cashier. I was picturing a Target cashier. But then again, after seeing some of the folks at TRU just today, I could see how they’d miss this! 🙂

        • Steve AKA: Poppa says:

          Sometimes the clerk at the returns desk can be a little more observant. I found a Impound Boost rehung on a Target peg that had a K-Mart price sticker on it. Of course it did sell in a couple of days. Hoarders and eBayers are notorious for returning stuff that ends up not selling!

          As those pictures show, you have to be knowledgeable to avoid getting fleeced. I do pity the poor grandma’s that mistaking buy the tampered products. When I see that I take out my trusty ball point pen and mark up the box with what the tampered item is. Then I take it to the returns desk and tell them to take it off the floor. Of course, since I have marred the box, they really do not have an alternative. 🙂 Keep the kids happy!

          At TRU a little four year old boy could hardly wait to bust open his newly acquired case F castings. Shear pleasure watching him have fun! 🙂

          • John in Missouri says:

            The best would be if you found a K-Mmart Cars Day car at a store other than K-Mart, or a Wal-Mart 8 car at a store other than Wal-Mart.

            …AND WHY DOES K-MART STILL USE PRICE STICKERS ANYWAY?!?!?

            • Nicole H says:

              I found a couple of the Finish Line McQueen 3 packs that were switched out at Target. I tried explaining to an employee what was wrong, even showing him the picture on the back of the box, and he still looked at me like I had horns. So, I told him to get the lead for toys and he finally understood me! Of course, they probably think I am insane for noticing and actually pointing it out.
              As for why Kmart still uses price stickers?? Simple answer-just to p!$@ us off!

            • iamspeed says:

              Price stickers ARE REQUIRED on ALL retail merchandise in our state, so it doesn’t matter if it’s TRU, Target, WM, or Kmart, it WILL have a sticker on it unless you catch it before it’s priced and hung on the peg.

  • PirateDad says:

    I think it is funny (in a pathetisad criminal way) that the thief replaced the tires with a car too…. no knockoff tires to substitue I guess…personally I wood have use a horse’s head from a Pez or something!

  • heinz57baby says:

    So sad to hear – stealing and pirating (the bad kind PD)

  • collectormom says:

    We’re going to have a load of crap to haul to NY from TX this summer; yikes! I dread it already. Did I mention that we’ve moved every year for the last 3 years? Gotta love the Army!

    (MET: Mattel sent new launchers to Germany and are you there? 🙂 ).

  • jestrjef says:

    Very interesting. I cannot believe people actually do this kind of thing . . . sad. 🙁

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